WEST MIDLANDS Police have joined with seven other police forces to pioneer a sophisticated new computer system which tracks bogus officials....

WEST MIDLANDS Police have joined with seven other police forces to pioneer a sophisticated new computer system which tracks bogus officials.

The announcement of the two-year pilot project comes just days after an 88-year-old Coventry targeted by conmen collapsed and died.

Police say the victims of distraction burglaries - mostly elderly - are tricked out of millions of pounds every year by callers posing as workmen or officials.

There have been more than a dozen similar offences in Coventry in the past month, and the latest one last Wednesday had tragic consequences when grandmother Grace Scott collapsed while making a 999 call.

A post-mortem examination showed she died from heart disease and that the shock of being burgled had been a factor in her death.

The latest computer software, developed by police IT specialists ABM UK, will now aim to build a common database of distraction burglars.

And for the first time, the eight police forces will be able to share and analyse data quickly and efficiently.

A sophisticated crime map-ping system, called Prophecy, is able to analyse movements and patterns to predict where the criminals will strike next.

And a computerised photofit system will help police match descriptions against pictures.

Det Insp Pat Parry, of the coordinating force Derbyshire Constabulary, said: "These people are the hyenas of the criminal world - they look for signs of weakness before they pounce."

He said in one case police found #3.5 million in bank accounts belonging to one gang.

The Home Office has funded the pilot project which, if successful, could be rolled out nationally to target the estimated 2,000 distraction thieves at work in the country.